Que Jin Ting Bei

The ancient stone tablet—called “que” (to refuse), “jin” (gold), “ting” (pavilion) and ”bei” (stone tablet)—was built at a pavilion in Guancheng to honor one incorruptible official in early China.

During the Ming dynasty, maritime trade was prosperous and the Chinese government would levy significant taxes on other countries. The tax regulation was later repealed, but some government officers still enjoyed using their special privilege to glean money from foreign businessmen. When the government official Li Kai (李凯) came to Dongguan and saw the extent of corruption, he established a system to crack down on the malpractice, while aiming to avoid disturbing foreign traders.

Later on, a Siamese trader was so thankful to Li that he pooled money with other businessmen and offered it to him. Li strongly rejected the money. To show gratitude for Li’s honestly, a tablet and pavilion to protect it were built by the men.